Upanishads · Bhāvanā p31
॥
Devanāgarī
रक्तशुक्लपदैकीकरणं पाद्यम् । उज्ज्वलदामोदानन्दासनदानमर्घ्यम्
Transliteration (IAST)
raktaśuklapadaikīkaraṇaṃ pādyam | ujjvaladāmodānandāsanadānamarghyam
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
रक्त-शुक्ल-पद-एकी-करणं पाद्यम्rakta-śukla-pada-ekī-karaṇaṃ pādyamthe union of the red and white places — water for the feet
उज्ज्वल-दाम-उद-आनन्द-आसन-दानम् अर्घ्यम्ujjvala-dāma-uda-ānanda-āsana-dānam arghyamthe offering of a seat to the shining stream of joy — the guest-water
Translation
The union of the red and white places — water for the feet; the offering of a seat to the shining stream of joy — the guest-water.
Version
62a616b56f67 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The third and fourth services: pādya, water for washing the guest's feet, and arghya, honorific water offered into the hands. In ordinary practice this is the first thing done for one who has arrived: his feet are washed after the road, and water is given. The custom is ancient, domestic, and needs no explanation anywhere people walk barefoot.
The reinterpretation is again inward: "the union of red and white" is a tantric phrase denoting the union of two principles in the body. It is worth saying something about the custom itself, however, for among Vaiṣṇavas it is not reinterpreted but preserved, and forms one of their most cherished memories. The Bhāgavatam tells how Kṛṣṇa, coming to Sudāmā, Himself washed his feet, and how His tears dropped into that water (10.80–81); and this story is retold more often than many theological passages.
It is to this that one should return while reading the reinterpretations. All of this can be translated inward and explained as the union of principles; or it can be left as it is — and then what remains is a basin of water, tired feet, and a host who rose and poured. The second, for all its simplicity, explains more about God than the first. From the union of red and white it does not follow that He loves anyone; from the fact that He washes a guest's feet, it does.